In 1887 Hertz observed the photoelectric effect.In 1900 Max Planck suggested that energy could only be emitted or absorbed in quantised packets. In 1905 Einstein proposed that light itself exists as quantised packets of energy, later called photons.Einstein explained the photoelectric effect which could not be explained by light behaving as a wave but as particles with energy proportional to the frequency.
Light as a Particle
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Specification: Edexcel Physics (8PH0), AS-level, Topic 5: Waves and Particle Nature of Light, statement 95. Topic: Quantum Physics.
Key terms in this lesson
- photoelectric effect
- The emission of electrons from a metal surface when electromagnetic radiation of sufficiently high frequency is incident on it.
More in Quantum Physics
- Huygens Principle
- Light as a Wave
- The Energy of a Photon
- Electrons as Waves
- Photoelectric Effect
- The Equation for the Photoelectric Effect
- Stopping Potential
- Electron Diffraction
All 21 lessons in Quantum Physics · All Edexcel AS-level Physics topics